


Double Blind

by exfactor



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Blind Date, Clexa Week 2017, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 11:39:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10098989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exfactor/pseuds/exfactor
Summary: Anya sets Lexa up on a blind date.





	

**Double Blind**

  
The bar's dingy and musty and she reaches for the glasses she keeps in her pocket, as though those will help illuminate the darkness. Anya made her leave them at home. Along with her dignity, she thinks.  
  
There's a girl sitting at the bar and there's a girl sitting in one of the booths and there's a girl playing some shooting arcade game in the back and there's a girl talking to the bartender and there's a girl waiting in line for the bathroom. It feels like a nightmare she's had several times. They all stare back at her. They all turn up their noses. Their boyfriends all come back from bathroom at the same time. All their boyfriends turn up their noses. Repeat ad infinitum.   
  
She wishes she'd never agreed to it. There's a perfectly good movie waiting at home on her laptop, albeit one that she just downloaded illegally. Her prototype is waiting for her in the lab. She's got leftovers from last night in the fridge. Any of those options are far preferable to this one. If she wasn't so pathetic, Anya never would have talked her into this.  
  
Now that her mind's done playing tricks on her, she thinks she spots her. Sitting by herself. Check. Pretty. Check.  Blonde. Check. Maybe. That was the description, right? She's been sitting by herself since Lexa walked in and she seems to be looking around. She's waiting for someone. That's got to be her.

 

 

She calls Anya to double check.  
  
"She's too pretty, Anya. I can't talk to her," she stage whispers into her phone from a dark corner. It's loud enough that she can't full-on whisper but quiet enough that she swears the girl can hear her. Somehow there's still a payphone and one of those change-only cigarette machines back in the corner with her.   
  
"I don't know if I'd describe her as 'too pretty,' but to each their own," Anya cackles back at her. This has always been their thing. Anya mocks Lexa into submission. Lexa finally submits. Anya commences her 'told ya sos.' Lexa seeks to qualify said 'told ya sos.' Argument ensues.

"Time to buck up, Lexa. You're such a puss."  
  
Those 'told ya sos' are usually right, even if they do come with some qualifications. There was that party Anya convinced Lexa to go to. It was fun and Lexa did dance with a couple of girls ( _'told ya so'_ ) but Anya also blacked out at the end of the night and Lexa had to drag her into an Uber to get home (' _but Anya, remember...'_ ).  
  
"I thought you said you didn't know her." She takes another quick glance. The girl's folding a paper straw wrapper into intricate patterns. Lexa hopes she hasn't noticed her in this dark corner by a payphone and a change-operated cigarette machine. That can't be a good first impression.  
  
"I don't. She's my lab partner's friend. But she showed me a picture. ‘Too pretty’ wouldn’t be my words, but I said she was attractive. I'm not that bad a friend, Lexa. God."  
  
"What am I supposed to say?"  
  
Anya laughs that evil laugh again, like everything in the world is the most obvious and Lexa truly is the most pathetic. "Introduce yourself."  
  
"I can't." It's automatic. There's a lot of automatics in her life. It's automatic to go to the library between classes to study. It's automatic to go to the lab after classes to work on her prototype. Her confidence in academics: automatic. Her lack of confidence with girls: automatic.  
  
"It goes like this: 'Hi, my name is Lexa.'"  
  
"You're a jerk." She takes another glance at the girl. Her eyes flick up and Lexa swears she's caught. "I don't think I can approach her. My feet feel like they're stuck to the ground."  
  
"You're at the bar, right?"  
  
"Yeah, the one just off Main Street."  
  
"Do a shot."  
  
"A shot?" she squeaks. She looks up again and the girl's eyes are glued to her phone. "What if she sees me? She's going to think I'm pathetic."  
  
"Well at least she'll know the truth."  
  
"I hate you." She creeps out of the darkness and looks around. It feels safe enough for the moment. And she figures it'll probably feel a little bit safer after a shot.  
  
The tequila burns and Anya laughs when she breathes fire into the phone afterwards. It's like she's right next to her and Lexa feels only slightly relieved by it all. Or maybe Anya's making it worse. She can never decide.   
  
"Did she see you?"  
  
"No, but this other girl is staring at me like I'm pathetic now. How can she be at the bar by herself and look so confident and I'm tripping over my feet and almost spitting out shots of tequila?"  
  
"You tripped? You almost spit it out? 'Shots' plural? How many did you take? God. I'm praying for you."  
  
She looks at the girl again. She's looking back at Lexa. How much of that did she catch? She blows a big Lexa sigh into the phone and hears Anya laugh.  
  
"Give a go for an hour, Lex. I'll be there at nine to rescue you just like we said, ok?" Anya's voice is distant as she catches the girl's eye. This is it.  
  
"Thank you."

 

 

  
Suddenly she's at the booth. Of course she is. Her feet start working and her brain stops and she's at this beautiful girl's table and Anya's going to make so much fun of her.  
  
"Hi, Lexa."  
  
The girl smiles. "No, sorry, I'm Clarke." Smiles at her. Pretty. Beautiful. Shit. She's fucked it up already.  
  
She looks down at the table. At least she can string together a few coherent words when she's not looking at this beautiful - no, gorgeous - girl. "No, I'm Lexa. Sorry. Nice to meet you Clarke."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry..." She smiles again as Lexa chances a glance up at her. Clarke. It's unusual. A girl named Clarke.  
  
"She said you were pretty but I'm kind of at a loss for words." She decides to just make sustained eye contact with the knot in the table every time she has to talk. At least her sentences make sense then.  
  
The girl laughs. Clarke. She laughs. "She said I was pretty?"  
  
Maybe she's not pretty after all. It is pretty dark and she did leave her glasses at home. Lexa has to look up to double check, even though she knows it's about to disarm her. "Of course she did." The prettiest.

She laughs again. Lexa looks up again. Whatever it is she's doing to make this girl laugh, she wants to do it forever. "Odd. I'll have to thank her. Please, have a seat."  
  
Lexa looks to the booth, then remembers to steel herself. Anya's advice.  
  
"Do you want something to drink first? I have a tab open at the bar."  
  
"Oh," Clarke says, like it's a surprise that Lexa would offer her a drink. At least that's how she sounds. Maybe she's more charming than Anya thinks her to be, Lexa imagines. "Sure, I guess. Margarita?"  
  
"Rocks? Salt?"  
  
"Perfect."  
  
Her feet move with more ease this time around. And she's not as concerned with the girl who's sitting by herself at the bar. Or the girl who's come back from the bathroom and is watching the TV. She watches the bartender mix and shake and pour and she knows she should be thinking about what to do next, but she only gets as far as scooping up the drinks and not tripping before her brain circles back around to making sure she scoops up the drinks and doesn't trip.   
  
And then she's scooping up the drinks and not tripping and sitting directly across from this...Clarke. Such an unusual name. Like she should have heard it before.  
  
"So."  _Idiot_. There was a show once. She remembers watching it around middle school some time. Hidden cameras and microphones track your blind date while your friends sit and watch and comment and laugh from a bus parked somewhere nearby. Those comments get buzzed right into your ear during your blind date. Every word she says, every move she makes, she hears Anya buzzing in her ear, whispering ' _Idiot_.'  
  
"So." Clarke smiles and brings the salted rim to her lips. Lexa looks away. The knot on the table.  
  
"Sorry. I'm just a little nervous."  
  
"I get it. Science folks and social skills don't always mix." Clarke laughs again. Lexa's grateful for her sense of humor and...is it self-deprecation? That should be the right word. Science folks.  
  
"Guess not. So does that mean you're not a science person, then, because you seem to have some pretty good social skills?" It doesn't really fit with the description, but then she can't remember the exact description Anya gave her anymore. Not when this pretty girl is in front of her and she's talking to her and she's smiling at her.  
  
"Not at all. Especially not physics. It's like the worst of math and science combined."  
  
At least now the subject is on science. She can talk about science. It's probably the number one reason she agreed to this date with Anya's lab partner's friend in the first place.  
  
"Yeah, physics isn't exactly my forte, but I get by well enough with most sciences."  
  
"Oh, it's not? That surprises me."  
  
"No, I'm an engineering major. So physics is a necessity, for sure, but it's kind of a means to an end."  
  
"I see. All of this stuff has me so confused. I just need to get this science requirement out of the way."  
  
"Wait.” She can feel herself make that thinking face that Anya makes fun of. ‘ _Idiot.’_ She’s supposed to be a science major. Anya said so. “What's your major?"  
  
"Studio art. So, basically the exact opposite of physics."  
  
She must have heard Anya wrong. Or maybe Anya heard her lab partner wrong. Lord knows Anya barely listens to anything of substance that Lexa ever says.  
  
"You must be talented with your hands."  _Idiot_.  
  
Clarke laughs. "I'd assume an engineer is pretty talented with her hands, too."  
  
She chances another glance. ' _This is called flirting, Lexa._ ' She can hear it in Anya's voice and everything.

 

"I can get by."  
  
Clarke licks her lips and she's pretty sure she looks down at Lexa's fingers twined around the glass that's sweating in front of her. She hopes that the glass is sweating more than she is. She brings the glass to her lips. Something, anything to quench her sudden undying thirst.

 

"What do you do with your hands?"  
  
She's not expecting Clarke to say it in such a hoarse, deep whisper. It's almost...seductive? She's also not expecting for her to bring her bottom lip between her teeth. There's a lot of air that goes down with Lexa's next swallow. And then a couple of big coughs. Gone is the seductive look. Clarke's looking at her with concern now.  
  
She clears her throat and plays it steady. Back to the safe stuff. "My friend and I are working on a prototype for the InnoVention competition this year."  
  
"You just said several words I don't know."  
  
"Sorry. Studio Art major. Right. The prototype is a design to try to solve a real world problem. We're entering it into a competition that the engineering school has every year. Lots of big job prospects for the top finishers." For just a moment, she's forgotten about Clarke and those perfectly blue eyes and how she keeps pulling that lip between her teeth and she's strung together a few sentences like a normal human being. ' _Brava, Lex!_ ' she hears Anya say.  
  
Clarke's leaning forward and Lexa can't help but see a hint more cleavage from her v-neck. She really can't help it. Clarke moves into her line of sight.   
  
"That sounds neat. What's your real world problem? For your...prototype?"  
  
She coughs down at her drink again and hopes Clarke pays more attention to that than to the last several seconds she's had her eyes on the tops of her breasts. "Yeah, that's it. We're hoping to use 3D printers to design inexpensive, yet functional prosthetics for kids."  
  
"And now I feel like a terrible person." Don't look at her boobs and talk about prosthetics for kids. She repeats it in her mind like a mantra.  
  
"No." She looks back at that knot in the table. It's not that far from where Clarke's boobs are pressed...stop. She looks down at her drink. She must have been thirsty. Or something. All that remains are few ice cubes melting at the bottom. She brings the glass up to her lips again and captures an ice cube with her teeth. Nervous habit.  
  
"Yes. Gosh. That's amazing."  
  
"Well, we have to make it work first, so don't heap too much praise on me yet."  
  
"I'm sure you'll figure it out."  
  
Lexa looks up and smiles and Clarke's smiling and the cotton in her mouth seems to be disappearing, but she still drains another two cubes and starts crunching.  
  
"I have to be honest," she says between the last few bites, "I told my friend Anya to meet me here in an hour, just in case things went bad." It seems like a safe enough thing to say. She doesn't even think that much about it.  
  
"What kind of bad things were you expecting?"  
  
"Not to find you. Not to get along. I don't know. It happens, right?" A wave of panic flutters up. Anya's ' _Idiot_ ' rattles in between her ears for a moment before Clarke speaks.  
  
"I suppose so. We can be adults about it, though. If it's not going to work, it's not going to work. There's other TAs in the sea, so to speak."  
  
The latest lingo has always eluded her and she figures it's just another word that'll pass her by without making its way into her lexicon. She'll ask Anya about it later.  
  
"That's a good outlook." She shakes her glass nervously. Not even any ice left. "Another drink?"  
  
"I'd love one. Can you get some chips and salsa, too? I think I'll need something besides alcohol if we keep up this pace." Clarke winks at her. Like a real wink. She can feel herself staring back. Eyes wide. Mouth open, probably. She starts to think about it and realizes that her mouth actually is open and snaps it shut. She sees Anya in the back of the bus disgustedly whispering, ' _Gross_.'  
  
"You got it." She probably says it after a full five minutes. There's probably even some finger guns. She has no idea what messages her brain is communicating to her body, but she hears Clarke laugh and she feels a little less grossed out by herself.  
  
There's now a couple girls at the bar and she has to slide herself between them to get served.  
  
Where has this bar been all her life? If she'd known that this is where lonely girls come to hang out, maybe this would have been her spot long ago.  
  
Who is she kidding? The library and the lab will forever be her spots. And the only lonely girl she has any interest in right now is the one who's eyeing her from the booth. The one who she nervously smiles at while she waits. The one who smiles back. The one who she may have just attempted a wink at, but she knows better than to try to wink. It becomes a two-eyed affair. Decidedly not a wink. She's tested it. In front of the mirror.  
  
"Another round?" The bartender asks as she swings around from the other side of the bar. A saving grace. She'll think about her two-eyed wink later.  
  
"Ah, yeah. And some chips and salsa, too?" She glances back at Clarke. Still there.  
  
"I'll bring it over," the bartender says with a chuckle.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"It's weird," she says, sliding back into the booth. "I thought Anya said that you were a bio major. I don't know how I got bio and Studio Art mixed up."  
  
Clarke looks at her for a moment and tilts her head.  
  
"Well I started out as a bio major, but that didn't last long. Like I said: not a science person."  
  
"I don't blame you." Lexa had taken bio freshman year. Back when she thought pre-med might still be an option. Back before she discovered the engineering intro course.  
  
"Those bio labs..." Lexa starts, before she hears Clarke say "The labs..."  
  
This time she feels herself lick her lips and pull her lower lip between her teeth. She's been watching Clarke too much. She catches Clarke looking at her lips. Or...does she still have that zit on her chin? No. Definitely not. ' _Idiot_.'  
  
"You're cute. I wasn't expecting this, to be honest."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Just. Drinks. A nice conversation. I'll have to thank Raven. She probably wasn't expecting this either. She barely said anything about you."  
  
The name doesn't sound familiar. But then, she's not so good with names, and definitely not so good with names that Anya supplies. Anya's not so good with names herself. "Well we don't really know each other."  
  
"Yeah, I know. TAs." TA. Tits and ass? Tits. Boobs. V-neck.  
  
She chugs her drink. "Something like that." The knot on the table. The glass. How many ice cubes?  
  
"Would you excuse me, Lexa? I just need a quick trip to the restroom to freshen up." She's been caught. Clarke's going to go call her friend, Raisin, or whatever. She's going to tell her that she won't stop looking at her boobs and she's a complete and total science nerd. This was supposed to be her move if things didn't go well. Go to the bathroom. Call Anya. Be rescued. Something was supposed to happen in between the calling and the rescuing but she figured that was for Anya to figure out. She slumps against the hard wood of the booth and nods.  
  
"Don't go anywhere, cutie."  
  
That helps. She sits up a little and takes another slug of her margarita. That first shot feels like it's really coursing through her veins now.  
  
It also helps that Clarke leaves her phone on the table. This is actually going well. She doesn't need to be rescued. Clarke actually thinks she's cute. She's actually smiling real, genuine smiles.  
  
She grabs her phone to text Anya.  
  
_Things are really good. Don't come. I owe you._  
  
Moments later, Anya sends back a cryptic.  _omw_  
  
It takes Lexa a while to figure out what those letters mean. There's googling and several definitions in the Urban Dictionary involved and when she finally figures it out, Clarke's back. She should have spent the time looking up TA.  
  
"Man, the girls in this bar are friendly. A girl in the bathroom asked me if I was here for a blind date."  
  
"That's funny. This must be the spot." The two from the bar earlier are gone. Maybe they found one another?  
  
"So funny."  
  
"Do you want another drink?"  
  
It's tempting. She can hear Anya pushing for more. ' _Drunk Lexa is always a good time. You should let her out more._ ' "I think maybe I should have a water."  
  
"Lightweight, huh?"  
  
"I just don't want to embarrass myself. If I haven't already."  
  
Clarke smiles and gives her another wink. "No you haven't already." Don't try to wink back. Don't do it. Clarke turns toward the bar before Lexa feels both of her eyes close.  
  
While Clarke's at the bar, Lexa takes a moment to dig out her phone. It should be enough time to tell Anya not to come. Somehow, in the time it takes her to text Anya and for Clarke to turn around with two waters, Anya's in the doorway of the bar.  
  
Lexa looks up, hoping to catch her before she descends on their table.  
  
"Hi, I'm Anya." She thrusts her hand at Clarke.  
  
"Ah, the famous Anya," Clarke says, as she grasps Anya's hand. "I'm Clarke. Nice to meet you." Anya turns to look at Lexa with a frown.  
  
"Lexa, can I steal you for a moment?" She's still standing at the head of the booth and Lexa wishes she would have figured out what ' _omw'_ means sooner. Now she's about to mess everything up.   
  
"Now?" Lexa stays rooted, leaning back further in the wooden booth.  
  
"Just a moment," Anya says, grabbing Lexa's arm. "Excuse us, Clarke."  
  
She drags her to the same darkened hallway as her first conversation with Anya. The phone booth and the change-only cigarette machine. Her old friends. She tries to swing around to keep her eye on Clarke, but Anya lays into her before she can move.  
  
"Lex. Nice work, champ. Really," she says, looking over at Clarke. "But who the fuck is that?"  
  
Anya's finger jabs in the air toward Clarke. Lexa manages to unwrap her arm from Anya's grip and look back at Clarke, who thankfully does not see or hear Anya losing her shit in their dark corner.  
  
"What?" She looks between Anya and Clarke.  
  
"Who is  _that_ girl?" Another finger jab. Another terrible Anya-esque stage whisper that's actually more like a whisper-yell.  
  
Lexa pushes her further back into the corner and hushes her.  
  
"Clarke. The girl you set me up with. Your lab partner's friend."  
  
"Nope. That's not her. Idiot."  
  
"What?" Lexa looks back again. Clarke. It's Clarke. That was her name, right?  
  
"Catherine. You were supposed to meet Catherine."  
  
"That's not Catherine."  
  
"That's not Catherine, champ."  
  
"How do you know? You don't even know her." It's the only thing she can think to say. She doesn't care who Catherine is. Clarke is who she's supposed to have met.  
  
"Well first of all, you said her name's Clarke. But second of all, she's supposed to be at the bar with a black jacket and blue jeans. Remember the outfit?"

 

Anya's got about three looks for Lexa. One is actual pity. That one is rare and only when Anya's feeling especially giving. That's not the look she gives her. The second one is a shake of her head and a smile. That one is also rare and only when Lexa stumbles into something wonderful. That's the look Lexa figures she should get. Instead, she gets the third. The one that she almost always gets. The 'how can someone so smart be such a complete moron' look.  
  
"Oh, I forgot about that part." She'll only confess to being part-moron, right now. Clarke has called her cute. Several times. "What am I supposed to do?"  
  
Anya shakes her head and smiles. "You like Clarke?"  
  
"A lot."  
  
Anya steps out of the darkness to look at her again. "I wonder who she thinks you are."  
  
"Now I do, too."  
  
She hurries Anya off and stops in the restroom. A shot, a couple of margaritas, too many ice cubes, nervousness. It's all caught up with her. And the Catherine thing just pushed it over the edge. She splashes some water on her face and gets a little on her collar. ' _Idiot_.' There's no definitive plan when she emerges from the bathroom, but any longer and she figures Clarke might leave.  
  
"What happened to your friend?" Clarke asks as she slides back into the booth.  
  
"She had to go. She had an emergency."  
  
Clarke's eyes go wide. "Oh no. Is everything ok?"  
  
"Yeah, she's working it out for me."  
  
Clarke's eyes narrow. "For you?"  
  
Lexa looks up like she's been caught. "Can I make a confession?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Out with it. She doesn't have any good story to cover up this stupidity. And her curiosity about Clarke has really gotten the best of her now. "I thought you were the girl I was getting set up with. Anya's lab partner's friend was supposed to meet me here. Her name is Catherine. And I thought you were Catherine."  
  
Clarke laughs and Lexa breathes a sigh of relief before joining in. "I am not Catherine."  
  
"You are not. Who are you?"  
  
"Wait," Clarke says, leaning forward again. Boobs. Nope. Eyes. "So, does that mean that you don't know Raven?"  
  
"Who's Raven?"  
  
Clarke grabs her phone and smiles. "She was supposed to set me up with her physics TA."  
  
"Oh TA." Lexa leans back until her head clunks against the back of the booth. "Teacher's Assistant. She wanted you to date her physics TA?"  
  
"No. I need a tutor for physics."  
  
Curiosity still getting the best of her, Lexa leans in. "Why have you been talking to me for so long?"  
  
"You said I was pretty. I'll admit, it's an odd lead-in for a tutoring conversation, but you're so cute that I thought I'd see where the conversation went." That lip-bite-thing again. Lexa's eyes are on the move.  
  
"You think I'm cute? You? Me?"  
  
"I wouldn't have let you buy me all of these margaritas if I just wanted you to tutor me in physics." Clarke's tongue darts out to wet her lips and Lexa's mouth goes dry.  
  
A gulp of water and an unintended gulp of air and sputter later, she replies, "I can still probably tutor you in physics, if you want."  
  
Clarke leans further forward and Lexa feels like she doesn't need a drink of water to choke this time. Eyes. Eyes. Eyes. "I'd rather go on a second date with you."  
  
"What? You would?" Her brow furrows and Clarke chuckles.  
  
"Gosh, you're adorable."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Let's go on a second date." She starts climbing out of the booth. First the tab, then the date. Where? The lab isn't far. She could show Clarke her prototype. She seemed impressed with it. Clarke's hand is on her hand. Clarke's hand is touching her hand. She freezes.  
  
Clarke looks up at her from the booth. "Let's see where this first one goes first though, ok?"  
  
"Where's it going to go?" she asks as she slides back in. Clarke's hand is still on her hand.  
  
"Well, I think we're going to find that out. But I wouldn't be opposed to a hug and maybe a kiss at the end of the night. And your number, of course."  
  
Clarke wants her number. Clarke wants to hug her. Clarke's lips. On her lips.   
  
"Lexa?" Clarke squeezes her hand.  
  
"Uh. Yeah. Sorry. Distracted."  
  
"What were you thinking about?" Clarke's bottom lip is between her teeth again. Anything but that.  
  
"Just wondering...where are Catherine and the physics TA?"  
  
Clarke looks back toward the bathroom, where the girl in search of her blind date was.  
  
Lexa looks back to the bar, where the two lonely girls once were.  
  
"Nobody here but us."

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on tumblr - factorsofex


End file.
